Question

Motion pictures are so much a part of our lives that it’s hard to imagine a world without them. We enjoy them in theatres, at home, in offices, in cars and buses, and on airplanes.

① For about 100 years, people have been trying to understand why this medium has so attracted us. Films communicate information and ideas, and they show us places and ways of life we might not otherwise know. Important as the benefits are, though, something more is at stake. Films offer us ways of seeing and feeling that we find deeply satisfying. They take us through experiences. The experiences are often driven by stories, with characters we come to care about, but a film might also develop an idea or explore visual qualities or sound textures. A film takes us on a journey, offering a patterned experience that engages our minds and emotions.

② Films are designed to have effects on viewers. Late in the 19th century, moving pictures emerged as a public amusement. They succeeded because they spoke to the imaginative needs of a broad-based audience. All the traditions that emerged－ telling fictional stories, recording actual events, animating objects or pictures, experimenting with pure form－aimed to give viewers experiences they couldn’t get from other media. The men and women who made films discovered that they could control aspects of cinema to give their audience richer, more engaging experiences. Learning from one another, expanding and refining the options available, filmmakers developed skills that became the basis of film as an art form.

③ The popular origins of cinema suggest that some common ways of talking won’t help us much in understanding film. Take the distinction between art and entertainment. Some people would say that blockbusters(大片) playing at the multiplex are merely “entertainment”, whereas films for a narrower public－perhaps independent films for festival fare, or specialized experimental works－are true art. Usually the art / entertainment split carries a not-so-hidden value judgment: art is high-brow, whereas entertainment is superficial. Yet things aren’t that simple. As we just indicated, many of the artistic resources of cinema were discovered by filmmakers working for the general public. During the 1910s and 1920s, for instance, many films that aimed only to be entertaining opened up new possibilities for film editing. As for the matter of value, it’s clear that popular traditions can promote art of high quality. Cinema is an art because it offers filmmakers ways to design experiences for viewers, and those experiences can be valuable.

④ Sometimes, too, people treat film art as opposed to film as a business. This split is related to the issue of entertainment, since entertainment generally is sold to a mass audience. Again, however, in most modern societies, no art floats free of economic ties. Novels good, bad, or indifferent are published because publishers expect to sell them. Painters hope that collectors and museums will acquire their work. True, some artworks are funded through taxes or private donations, but that process, too, involves the artist in a financial transaction(交易). Films are no different. Others are funded by patronage or public moneys. Even if you decide to make your own digital movie, you face the problem of paying for it－and you may hope to earn a little extra for all your time and effort.

The crucial point is that considerations of money don’t necessarily make the artist any less creative or the project any less worthwhile. Money can corrupt any line of business (consider politics), but it doesn’t have to. In Renaissance Italy, painters were commissioned by the Catholic church to illustrate events from the Bible. Michaelangelo and Lenonardo da Vinci worked for hire, but it would be hard to argue that it hurt their artistry.

Here we won’t assume that film art prevents entertainment. We won’t take the opposite position either－claiming that only Hollywood mass-market movies are worth attention. Similarly, we don’t think that film art rises above commercial demand, but we also won’t assume that money rules everything. Any art form offers a vast range of creative possibilities. Our basic assumption is that as an art, film offers experiences that viewers find worthwhile.

1.Where should the sentence “It doesn’t happen by accident.” be put in the passage?

A. ①    B. ②

C. ③    D. ④

2.Which of the following statements about film is TRUE?

A. Hollywood films are usually far more appealing.

B. Film offers a wide variety of creative possibilities.

C. Films are made in the hope that consumers will pay to see them.

D. When watching films, viewers feel controlled by film designers.

3.The writer uses the examples of Michaelangelo and Lenonardo da Vinci to ______.

A. indicate that money is unlikely to corrupt artistry

B. show that money doesn’t necessarily destroy artistry

C. prove that money cannot buy everything in the field of art

D. suggest that money is an important concern even for famous artists

4.According to the writer, film should ______

A. avoid concentrating on popular traditions

B. focus on artistry rather than entertainment

C. provide the audience with something worthwhile

D. earn enough to pay for the developers’ time and effort

5.Which of the following can be the proper title for the passage?

A. Film: art or business    B. Art or entertainment

C. Film offers us experiences    D. Money doesn’t rule everything

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.B

4.C

5.A

【解析】本文主要探讨了电影的功能以及电影艺术与商业的关系。

1.B篇章结构题。根据第2段末尾A film takes us on a journey, offering a patterned experience that engages our minds and emotions.（一部电影带我们去旅行，提供一种生动的体验来吸引我们的思想和情感。）以及第3段开头Films are designed to have effects on viewers. Late in the 19th century, moving pictures emerged as a public amusement.（电影被设计影响观众。十九世纪晚期，电影成为一种大众娱乐。）可知，电影这种艺术表现形式并不是偶然发生的，它是必然的产物，根据上下文的联系，所以“It doesn’t happen by accident.”放在②的位置，起承上启下的作用。故答案为B。

2.B推理判断题。根据第四段中many films that aimed only to be entertaining opened up new possibilities for film editing.可知，电影提供了多种创新的可能性。故答案为B。

3.B细节理解题。根据倒数第二段第一句The crucial point is that considerations of money don’t necessarily make the artist any less creative or the project any less worthwhile.可知，作者引用Michaelangelo and Lenonardo da Vinci的例子为了表明金钱不一定会毁掉艺术。故答案为B。

4.C推理判断题。根据第四段最后一句Cinema is an art because it offers filmmakers ways to design experiences for viewers, and those experiences can be valuable.可知，电影应该为观众提供一些有价值的东西。答案为C。

5.A主旨大意题。根据全文内容可知，本文主要探讨了电影的功能以及电影艺术与商业的关系，故A项Film: art or business是本文最佳主题。

【名师点睛】

抓住文章主线和关键词语，归纳文章中心。要注意不是所有的段落都有主题句，有时主题句暗含在句中。阅读这样的文章，就需要自己根据文章的细节来分析，概括出段落的主题，从而推导出文章的主旨。分析的方法是：先弄清该文主要讲了哪几方面的内容，这些内容在逻辑上有什么联系，然后加以归纳形成主题。本文第5小题，本文前四段主要讲述了电影在社会中的功能，五、六、七段则探讨了电影艺术与商业的关系，故A项Film: art or business是本文最佳题目。